Raccoons

Olympia, Washington residents -- and their pet cats -- are under siege. A vicious band of raccoons has taken on the city, killing ten cats, attacking a dog and at least one pet owner who ended up getting rabies shots. The woman who was attacked by the raccoon band now carries an iron pipe when she goes out of doors. Others are carrying pepper spray to ward off the fierce coons. In fact, a neighborhood raccoon watch has been created, the initial meeting drawing a remarkable 40 people. One of the primary goals of the group is to get people to stop feeding the raccoons and to keep food products -- including pet food -- inside. The woman who was attacked indicated that she and her neighbors used to love raccoons. But, now things have changed. They feel the raccoons went nuts. Indeed, in one case a group of five raccoons attempted to carry off a dog -- the dog managing to escape and survive the attack. Traps are not that helpful in catching raccoons because the animals teach their young how to avoid traps.